“Malcolm Young would shred picks. It's like he would pick them up and they’d turn to dust!”: Richard Fortus breaks down his role as Guns N’ Roses’ rhythm machine – and explains the overlooked details that separate good players from great ones

Richard Fortus.

By his own admission, Richard Fortus is there to support his co-guitarist as best he can and ultimately serve the song. Not that he knows which song will be coming next on any given night, mind, due to the way that singer Axl Rose runs the show…

“Set list, you say!” he laughs, talking to TG from Saratoga Springs, New York, during the band’s ongoing We’re F’N’ Back! Tour. “It varies night to night and there’s no list. Basically, Axl will just call out the songs. Quite often there are groups of songs that we all know go together, but it’s all up in the air. Axl will call it as he feels it!”